Externship Clinics

The externships our students can become involved with provide them excellent learning experiences, and our patients can take advantage of them as well! Off-site clinics have the power to change the way a patient thinks, as well as how a student practices, broadening and enhancing views on the application of the medicine. They also offer students an opportunity to integrate with other medical practitioners, and influence the perception those medical practitioners have of our profession.

For more information about these offsite clinics, please call our main campus clinic: (619) 574-6932

Senior Clinic at First Lutheran ChurchSan Diego, CA
This is a very popular clinic and the pace is fairly fast, with many senior patients whose chief complaint is often pain, although they often also have underlying complex medical problems. This clinic provides a great opportunity for PCOM students to witness firsthand the effects of acupuncture when administered frequently.

These are busy clinics for the homeless and the underserved, ranging from young adults to the elderly, run in collaboration with UCSD medical students and volunteer UCSD faculty physicians. The clinics offer PCOM students a great opportunity to interact with Western medical professionals and future physicians in a safe, upbeat, and relaxed environment.

Rady Children's Hospital
San Diego CA
The hospital can be an unpredictable environment, requiring adaptability, dependability, and independence. Over half the population is Hispanic and not always bilingual, so Spanish speakers are preferred. PCOM students may treat all over the hospital--in patient rooms, open bays, lounges, and exam rooms.

UCSD Recreation, Intramural, and Athletic ComplexLa Jolla, CA
This clinic serves UCSD athletes at a rapid pace, treating specific problems. PCOM students have the opportunity to work on many types of musculoskeletal injuries alongside physical therapists and athletic trainers, using acupuncture to help rehabilitate post-operative injuries, sports injuries, and athletic performance by increasing range of motion, muscle strength, and tissue healing potential.

Owen Clinic at UCSD Medical CenterSan Diego, CA
The Owen Clinic is among America's top HIV care programs because of its comprehensive services, very experienced healthcare staff, and affiliation with the UCSD Medical Center. The Owen Clinic incorporates the various disciplines that an AIDS patient may use into one outpatient clinic, saving the patient the effort and confusion of going to many stations to get his or her needs met. All gender & socioeconomic groups are represented in addition to a liver clinic and oncology clinic and research.

Integrative Health Nights: Community Clinics
Multiple locations
This opportunity is offered in association with Alternative Healing Network (www.althealnet.org), a nonprofit started by a PCOM alumnus. It is a chance for PCOM students to witness “community style” acupuncture helping underserved families in a fast-paced, integrative setting, working alongside medical assistants, massage therapists, chiropractors, energy healers, and yoga instructors. Current locations include the O’Farrell Community School Hoover High School, the YWCA Women’s Shelter, and the City Heights Wellness Center.

UC San Diego Cancer Research Institute (UCSD CRI)Encinitas, CA
The UCSD CRI is a non-profit outpatient treatment center staffed by medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, and other specialists, providing chemotherapy and radiation oncology treatment to cancer patients. It provides the PCOM Program, as well as an integrative program made up of over 30 volunteers, and offers integrative care free to call patients at the UCSD CRI and within the community. The PCOM acupuncture shift is a very important contribution to this program. The UCSD CRI also conducts both pharmaceutical and CAM research.

Mental Health Services Inc, sponsoring Family Recovery CenterOceanside, CA
FRC serves as a safe house for women who have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, suffer from substance abuse and for whom CPS has gotten involved. Most of the women are in recovery from substance abuse as a requirement for being re-united with their children; some are there to avoid losing their kids. Both adults and children are treated.

The types of conditions treated range from anxiety and back pain to insomnia and weight management.

The umbrella company, Mental Health Systems, Inc. (MHS) www.mhsinc.org, is the largest provider of county/public mental health-recovery services in SD County. Additionally, PCOM students who serve here with the proper can receive credit for the clinical hours in order to become a certified Acupuncture Detox Specialist.

Veterans Clinic
San Diego, CA
Many current and former military personnel and their families suffer from stress, chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, and emotional conditions as a result of their military service. This clinic provides free acupuncture and massage treatments to all active duty military, reservists, veterans, and retirees, as well as their families. This is a community style clinic where all treatments will be done with the patient in a seated position; an ideal environment in which to develop efficiency in intake and treatment skills.